Australia's game plan can, finally, be revealed: lose toss, bowl England out for not many, score lots more, bowl them out again for not many, go fishing.

Rarely can a great team have made a difficult game look so simple. This Ashes series died in Perth. All the Australians did here by winning it inside three days by an innings and 99 runs was bury it.

Their plan for Sydney? Whisper it: more of the same.

England, perhaps still struggling to understand the blueprint of Mark Garaway and the backroom analysts because of their crimes against conventional spelling, made hard work of shifting Australia's last three batsmen for another 47 when play resumed.

Chris Read held on to Andrew Symonds' early lazy nick for his sixth catch behind, equal to the single-innings Ashes performances of Jack Russell and Alec Stewart. The keeper Duncan Fletcher doesn't want has kept impeccably.

Sajid Mahmood, the seamer he's not exactly crazy about, must have thought he was bowling to Matthew Hayden because he simultaneously fed Shane Warne's off-drive and his ego with a mixture of half-volleys and short dross. The Blond hit an unbeaten 40.

Mahmood, England's quickest bowler, finished with four for 100 but went for 4.65 an over. He should make way for the batting off-spinner Jamie Dalrymple on what ought to be a turner in Sydney, although Australian wickets don't always conform to historical expectations these days.

On a steadily deteriorating MCG deck, England's openers started comfortably enough, considering they were staring down the barrel of a 260-run deficit.

Alastair Cook passed 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year (the youngest Englishman to do so, the previous one being Strauss) when he placed Stuart Clark wide of Symonds' late dive at cover. Symonds, the finest outfielder in the game, misfielded again soon after. Perhaps he'd celebrated his maiden Test century too enthusiastically the night before; if so, he could be forgiven a couple of gaffes.

Glenn McGrath's sober mien, meanwhile, was disturbed when Rudi Koertzen turned down possibly the plumbest lbw of the year when Cook was on eight, and the score 13-0.

Cook looked in the mood when he hooked Clark calmly for four, only to play all over a full-length inswinger from the same bowler two balls later. It was the first time in the series England had passed 40 for the first wicket, but they needed something more substantial here. Strauss, on 14, cut Clark uppishly - and straight through Hayden's tardy grasp at gully.

Koertzen struck again soon enough, cricket's slowest finger of fate proclaiming Ian Bell lbw to McGrath. Hawkeye ruled it would have clipped the very top of middle stump, thin vindication for the umpire. Koertzen, who has had a wretched match and should be stood down for awhile, told an Australian journalist many years ago that players trusted him "because I never make a mistake". Which only goes to show South Africans do have a sense of humour.

England's South African, Kevin Pietersen, was promoted to No4 (against his wishes, according to local reports) and repaid the management's faith in him by playing loosely down the wrong line to Clark, who moved to 20 wickets for the series, one ahead of Warne. It was the shot of a distracted man.

So, batting to save the match against all odds, three of England's top order - Cook, Bell and Pietersen - had gone for 49, only two more than Australia's tail - McGrath, Clark and Warne - had managed on the same wicket just an hour or so earlier. That, by any standard, is a shambles. The rest, apart from Read, the captain and Monty Panesar, came and went without fuss.

Paul Collingwood got a lot of meat on a Brett Lee half volley - only to see 37-year-old Justin Langer pocket the neatest catch, two-handed low to his left, at short cover.

From the last ball before tea, Andrew Flintoff got the tiniest edge to Warne's flipper, and survived the bowler's trademark scream. Clark got him lbw 25 runs later - decent shot, better ball - and the game was just about up.

Mahmood was trapped second ball, Warne's first wicket of the day. He got Steve Harmison, eventually, hitting his back toe with a full toss.

Panesar was looking very multi-dimensional until Lee climbed one into him at considerable pace and he gloved to gully. Matthew Hoggard was no match for Lee's 90mph yorker. The New South Welshman's return of 4-74 was his best against England in 17 Tests.

From an England perspective, it was a sad day's viewing. They will do well to even muster a decent fight in the fifth Test, starting on Tuesday.

Warne, meanwhile, remains theatrically poised on 999 wickets in both forms of the international game and will, no doubt, round out his farewell with his customary flair. As he likes to say, "I don't know who's writing my scripts, but..." One thing's for sure: it's not Mark Garaway.